University of Melbourne - Residential Colleges (1 Viewer)

[curiouskat]

Hi there,
I am looking to study at the university of melbourne next year and will be moving to Australia from New Zealand, so I would like to stay in a residential college for my first year to meet lots of new people and get involved in sports and group activities.
I'm not religious at all, like a reasonable amount of partying but I do still want to do well at school, so I will want to be able to get some study down without heaps of distractions. I have been trying to look online to get an idea of the different colleges but it is really hard to get an idea of their reputations and what they are really like from their websites.
Would someone be able to recommend any? I'm not too fussy about sharing bathrooms with boys and girls or even shared rooms, as long as I get to make heaps of friends, get involved in extra curriculars and get good grades.
Thank you !!

 

[chiefpasco]

I stayed at Trinity College for a high school thing once and I didn't see anything religious about it.

 

[Butterscotch]

Hi,

I go to University College and I can offer you some advice. If you want some stereotypes:

Trinity/Ormond College: Extremely competitive to get into. Hands down the best facilities out of all of the colleges - Ormond in particular. Both these colleges are massive! Ormond in particular - about 500 students + non-res. However, they do have a reputation for being primarily rich, private school kids- with many who actually grew up in Melbourne. If you're a rower - go to these colleges and they will love you.

Janet Clarke Hall: The "study hard" college. One kid left and apparently wound up winning a nobel prize. They don't get involved in the sports culture as much although are notorious at debating.

IH: International House, despite its name, actually has a fair few Aussie kids. It's pretty cool, not great at most sports though (with the exception of badminton). They are quite far from Uni compared to the other colleges however.

St. Mary's: Has amazing food! Closest to Uni and is pretty decent at most sports, particularly in the girls comp. They are pretty well-rounded, and my second-cousin goes there and loves it!

St. Hilda's: Party crazy! They are really good at girls sports and probably the closest college to UC- many UC and Hilda's kids know each other. They also have pretty awesome campus and are on University grounds which is pretty awesome.

Queens: Probably if I could go back in time I would apply to Queens. I think they are really well-rounded and generally good at all the sporting and cultural activities. They are not as big as Trinity and Ormond but bigger than UC, Hilda's and Mary's. They have really decent facilities and are a pretty tight knit college.

Medley Hall: The newest edition to the Melbourne colleges so I don't know much about it other than it being super small and having a reputation for attracting a lot of alternative kids.

Whitley: RIP. Whitley is actually getting knocked down soon. I think next year is it's last intake of freshers. Its pretty far from Uni as opposed to the other colleges but has some of the nicest kids.

Newman: This is the college that has the reputation of being super religious and Catholic. Tbh its buildings kind of remind me of a jail and I've heard some rumours of some pretty weird rules. Having said that did meet a guy from Newman who loved it and said it was pretty fun.

UC: Saved the college I know most about for last. We are currently a construction zone so if you're looking to apply for next year I hope you enjoy 7am drilling. Its got a pretty decent party atmosphere with a fair percentage of us going out 3 times a week. Food here is pretty bad, so I hope you're not expecting Gordon Ramsey cuisine. Girls sport is pretty good, with a fair few girls getting around it (particularly netball). There are a fair few Kiwi kids here but I'm pretty sure thats the same with most of the other colleges. Main criticism is definitely the admin, can be mean and manipulative, as well as the construction. Tbh, I like UC, but with the power of hindsight I wouldn't put it as my first preference.

 

[chiefpasco]

Hi,

I go to University College and I can offer you some advice. If you want some stereotypes:

Trinity/Ormond College: Extremely competitive to get into. Hands down the best facilities out of all of the colleges - Ormond in particular. Both these colleges are massive! Ormond in particular - about 500 students + non-res. However, they do have a reputation for being primarily rich, private school kids- with many who actually grew up in Melbourne. If you're a rower - go to these colleges and they will love you.

Janet Clarke Hall: The "study hard" college. One kid left and apparently wound up winning a nobel prize. They don't get involved in the sports culture as much although are notorious at debating.

IH: International House, despite its name, actually has a fair few Aussie kids. It's pretty cool, not great at most sports though (with the exception of badminton). They are quite far from Uni compared to the other colleges however.

St. Mary's: Has amazing food! Closest to Uni and is pretty decent at most sports, particularly in the girls comp. They are pretty well-rounded, and my second-cousin goes there and loves it!

St. Hilda's: Party crazy! They are really good at girls sports and probably the closest college to UC- many UC and Hilda's kids know each other. They also have pretty awesome campus and are on University grounds which is pretty awesome.

Queens: Probably if I could go back in time I would apply to Queens. I think they are really well-rounded and generally good at all the sporting and cultural activities. They are not as big as Trinity and Ormond but bigger than UC, Hilda's and Mary's. They have really decent facilities and are a pretty tight knit college.

Medley Hall: The newest edition to the Melbourne colleges so I don't know much about it other than it being super small and having a reputation for attracting a lot of alternative kids.

Whitley: RIP. Whitley is actually getting knocked down soon. I think next year is it's last intake of freshers. Its pretty far from Uni as opposed to the other colleges but has some of the nicest kids.

Newman: This is the college that has the reputation of being super religious and Catholic. Tbh its buildings kind of remind me of a jail and I've heard some rumours of some pretty weird rules. Having said that did meet a guy from Newman who loved it and said it was pretty fun.

UC: Saved the college I know most about for last. We are currently a construction zone so if you're looking to apply for next year I hope you enjoy 7am drilling. Its got a pretty decent party atmosphere with a fair percentage of us going out 3 times a week. Food here is pretty bad, so I hope you're not expecting Gordon Ramsey cuisine. Girls sport is pretty good, with a fair few girls getting around it (particularly netball). There are a fair few Kiwi kids here but I'm pretty sure thats the same with most of the other colleges. Main criticism is definitely the admin, can be mean and manipulative, as well as the construction. Tbh, I like UC, but with the power of hindsight I wouldn't put it as my first preference.

what do you know about the new student village?

 

[Butterscotch]

literally nothing I'm afraid hahah. Although I was non-res last semester and I lived at UniLodge - which was disgusting, my bike got stolen and there were bugs everywhere and every 5 minutes the shower was broken. I heard that student village, where a friend of mine did stay, is a lot nicer though. However, he ended up moving into a college. I think college makes it far easier to make friends than student housing.

 

[chiefpasco]

literally nothing I'm afraid hahah. Although I was non-res last semester and I lived at UniLodge - which was disgusting, my bike got stolen and there were bugs everywhere and every 5 minutes the shower was broken. I heard that student village, where a friend of mine did stay, is a lot nicer though. However, he ended up moving into a college. I think college makes it far easier to make friends than student housing.

thanks